Tears of a Mermaid
by Gemini Artemis
Summary: The encounter of Bai Tsa with a mortal. The water demon did not think that could change her life and her heart so much. on hiatus
1. The Young Wizard

Another fic connected to my other ones. I have to learn to stop doing it... The good news is that it doesn't make much difference. This story is set after the current events of "First Love?" but before they got banished to the Netherworld. I wasn't going to post it now, but I hate waiting. 

Disclaimer: Except for the characters and the plot that I created, I don't own anything. 

------

**Chapter 1: The Young Wizard**

Bai Tsa sighed while walked observing the scenery at her right side. It was a relatively arid place, which did not please her at all. She and her siblings were heading to Dai Gui's palace to visit him. 

After the family had separated and each one of them formed an empire, they had decided that eventually would visit one another. They had not been winners, after all. They had a great loss and most of them had not overcome it. 

The water demon saw a line of people and some small demons some meters away. Human slaves. And the demons held whips to make sure that the men would do their work. Dai Gui was known for being one of the most merciless demons with mortals. 

"Bai Tsa" Tso Lan's voice called and she turned to see her brother. 

"Huh...?" 

"You look absent-minded. Is everything all right?" 

"Yes, why?" 

Tso Lan looked away in thought. 

"You have not left you empire very often. When you visit us, you look like you are being forced into it." 

"No... It's just that-" 

"Brother Dai Gui!" Xiao Fung shouted when he saw the earth demon approaching. 

"Greetings, brothers and sisters." Dai said and they all bowed. 

"Long time no see you." Tso Lan remarked. 

"Yeah, you, Bai Tsa and Shendu never leave your homes." Xiao added. 

"Dai Gui has been having some problems." 

"What kind of problems?" Tchang Zu wanted to know. 

"Come in, first. Outside is not the most appropriate place for this talk. 

-=-=-=-=-=-

"I hate this palace..." Bai Tsa muttered angry and Po Kong, who had to shrink to walk freely for the palace, gave her an ironic smile. 

"Do not complain. He never liked Atlantis either." 

The two female demons turned their attention to their brothers when Tchang Zu asked again about Dai Gui's problems. The earth demon still took a while to respond. 

"A war is about to begin. The people from the western Asia are threatening to invade this region." 

"Western Asia?" Shendu confirmed while Tso Lan took a map and placed it on a table. 

"Yes." Dai Gui replied. 

Soon everyone was concentrated on the map, trying to come up with good strategies. Bai Tsa was the only one who did not join them. She and her brothers had practically just finished a tragic war, and she really did not feel like starting another any soon. 

"I'm going out for a walk, ok?" she said but nobody seemed to have heard her. She snapped angry and left the room. 

-=-=-=-=-=-

"Wars... What's so good in them, anyway? After one we get centuries to rebuild everything so that someone then destroys it all again..." she muttered while walking in the arid scenery near Dai Gui's underground palace. 

And she stopped when, from a ravine, she saw several human slaves working hard under the dangerous look of demons who were at least three times bigger than them. They were all men, so they could do the hard work. Women and children used to have other duties, like being servants in the palace or in the manufactured production. 

In that region, there was a 'race' of people with specific physic characteristics, like dark hair and dark eyes, but Bai noted that in these people had green or blue eyes and fair hair. Exactly the type of people who lived in her territory. Would it be possible that Dai Gui was stealing her mortals? 

She considered going to ask one of the demons around there, but noticed a movement from the corner of her eye and turned just on time to see a figure moving away. Bai Tsa narrowed her eyes and followed it. Fortunately, there were many rocks that she could use to hide and watch the fugitive. When she approached a bit more, she could see it was a man. 

He was wearing simple and patched clothes – typical of slaves – and also blue pants and blue long-sleeved shirt. His skin was slightly tanned, his eyes were sky-blue and his hair was pale blond, looking white. It was tied in a ponytail and reached his waist. Men with long hair were not rare in this time, but they usually had it reaching their chest, unless they were western wizards. 

So he was a western wizard? 

Bai did not have to wonder about that for too long, because the man got to a small waterfall and whispered some magic words that sounded like Latin, while he intertwined his hands, his index fingers together and pointing up. The falling water split and opened way for him to pass. For Bai Tsa's surprise, the spell did not just open a way, but also created a portal in the cave behind the waterfall. The man went through it and the water was about to go back to normal. Without thinking twice, Bai Tsa rushed to it, going through it right on time before the portal was closed. 

It looked like she had just been teleported to another dimension. She was not in a cave, but in an enclosed room. The portal was the only exit. 

Bai Tsa almost forgot about the man who in front of her, his back turned to her. Only then she noticed few shelves with some books and magic artifacts. Then now she was sure that he really was a wizard. 

The man grabbed a very old book with beige cover and read it for a while, until he found what he wanted. Bai Tsa stood in total silence and watched him in interest. Perhaps that wizard was a spy from the east who was here researching a way to defeat her brother Dai Gui. If so, it was worth keeping an eye on him until she could be sure of some useful information. 

"Here it is..." he murmured to himself and Bai could note he had a strange accent that sounded like a mix of Latin and the language spoken in the region of Britain. That turned it hard to guess where he was from, but certainly he was not from this place. 

Suddenly, he turned to the portal. Bai Tsa flinched and thought she would not have to time to hide, but luckily he was so concentrated on the book that did not even saw her. He went through the portal and the water demon hurried to it as well. When she was back, she ended up in the lake. 

The wizard quickly looked at the lake but did not see anything wrong. The still glanced suspiciously at it before reading the book again and walk away. 

Bai Tsa reformed her head and sighed. It was in times like this that she was glad for being the water demon. 

Then she remembered. Magic was prohibited to mortals, except official chi wizards who usually assisted the demons sorcerers. And this man certainly was not an official wizards, his clothes showed that. And the mere fact that he had hidden books in a secret chamber was very suspicious too. 

She got out of the lake and continued following him. Bai Tsa always admired western magic, and had to admit that she was curious to see what he was planning to do. 

A squirrel passed next to him. This area in particular was not so arid and was not a surprise to find some small animals. And since this one seemed to be the only one around, it ended up being the human's guinea pig. He pointed at the squirrel while confirmed something in the book several times. 

"_Strigare_, _saxificusum_!" he said in a loud and clear voice and the squirrel immediately froze, then turned into stone. He smiled in victory and Bai Tsa widened her eyes. For all her life she had learned eastern magic, which was considered to be better than the western one. However, she believed that some western spells were much better. She just proved that by watching this spell. If she used eastern magic to obtain the same result, the process would be divided in two parts and consequently longer. But this human did it in three seconds! 

"Amazing." a feminine human said behind the man, who turned around to see woman dressed in a Roman white toga. Her hair was black and reached her waist, and her eyes were blue, lighter than the sky. He stared at her both in surprise and in suspicion. 

"What?" he asked closing the book and holding it tightly as if he were protecting it from the woman. But Bai Tsa was just fascinated. 

"That spell you just did. It has not just frozen that squirrel, but also turned it into stone in few seconds." she replied smiling slyly and he stepped back. Bai Tsa approached and stretched her hand to reach the book. 

"Can I see it?" she asked but he retreated even more. 

"Why?" he asked looking angry and she sighed. 

"I always liked western magic. I think it is very interesting." 

He looked at her up and down. 

"You are not after me...?" he asked carefully. 

"No, I just want to see the book." the water demon said already losing her patience and he, after some hesitation, finally handed over the book to her. 

Bai Tsa grinned when she took the book in her hands. Even after she moved away to Atlantis, she never had the opportunity to read a real western magic book. Tso Lan always motivated her to read the eastern ones, therefore impeding her touch with western spells. 

She sat in a huge stone in the ground to read it. It was all in Latin, but that was not a problem, since Latin was the language spoken in almost all her empire. 

"Tell me, can you understand everything in this book?" she wanted to know. 

"No, of course not. I am just a slave. Lord Dai Gui ordered me to take that book to him. I just got curious halfway and tried an easy spell." he answered smiling friendly and Bai narrowed her eyes in suspicion. 

"Then why is your hair so long?" 

"B-Because..." he hesitated thoughtfully. "It's... a promise I made a long time ago." 

"I see." she said closing the book. "Well, let's not leave lord Dai Gui waiting, right? You better hurry." she said giving the book back to him and deciding she could ask her brother to continue reading it later. 

"Thank you." he politely said getting up. "See you later." he said while turning around and turned to go away. She sighed and since she had nothing better to do, she decided to go back to the underground palace. 

-=-=-=-=-=-

"Bai Tsa, where were you?" Tchang Zu asked as soon as he saw his sister entering the room where the demonic family was. 

"I told you I was going to go out for a walk, but nobody listens to me!" she snapped and nobody seemed to have heard her. Apparently they were all very concentrated on war strategies again. It seemed that everybody was excited with the idea of seeing other human massacre, which Bai Tsa really dispensed. She snorted and left the room, violently slamming the door. 

"So what's her problem?" Xiao Fung asked and Hsi Wu shrugged. 

"Who cares? She is always on a bad mood, anyway!" Shendu snapped. 

"Yes, she looks like someone I know..." Po Kong commented looking at him and the dragon hissed angry, but did not say anything. 

"Perhaps someone should talk with her." Tso Lan suggested and Shendu crossed his arms. 

"Do not even count on me!" 

"Nobody was going to ask you, anyway." Hsi Wu stated. 

"Dai Gui is going to talk with her." the earth demon said. 

"Me too." Tso said and they two left the room to look for her. 

-=-=-=-=-=-

In one of the many rooms of the underground labyrinth, Bai Tsa was seated in a rock bench and sighed in annoyance. Lately, neither her siblings nor her mortals in Atlantis have been a good company to her. Everybody had such a superficial relation with her that it was beginning to depress her. 

"Bai Tsa." Tso Lan's voice called and she lifted her gaze to see two of her brothers approaching. 

"What is it?" she asked rather sharply. 

"Is something bothering you?" the moon demon asked and she got up to walk forward and turn her back to them, crossing her arms. 

"Does that really matter to you?" 

"Of course yes, you are our sister." 

"And Dai Gui feels guilty, because he knows that you dislike his palace." the earth demon added. Although Bai Tsa did not believe them – after all, they were not exactly the most caring beings she knew – at least she felt better with them than with Shendu or Tchang Zu, for example. 

"Well, I-" 

"Lord Dai Gui!" a guard interrupted entering the room and bowed. 

"What is it?" Dai asked in his usual cruel tone. 

"He tried to challenge you again." the man answered. 

"Bring him here." the demon ordered and now Bai was not angry anymore, but curious to know what they were talking about. He? Again? Then it was someone persistent, since her brother quickly understood the situation. The guard left the room for a brief moment and was back with other two guards, who were dragging a man. He was reluctant and tried to break free, but gave up when the guards stopped in front of their leader. 

Bai Tsa widened her eyes as she recognized the man. 

"You!" she exclaimed and he looked at her. 

"Yes, me." he said in a sarcastic tone and she frowned a bit confused, as well as her brothers. 

"Excuse me?" 

He raised a brow. "I knew you were not a human. I guessed you were the water demon." 

"You knew it? Then... you really are a wizard!" 

"Rather obvious, don't you think? Judging by his appearance and his chi, you could easily say he is not a common man." Tso Lan said and Bai was angry again. She was not just deceived, but her brother had to worse everything by commenting it in front of everyone. 

"You said you were just Dai Gui's servant!" 

"Well, I lied. That way we are even, because we pretended to be a human as well." the man said shrugging. 

"How do you dare?" 

"It's not my fault if even though you are a demon sorcerer you are so naive." He smirked sarcastically and Bai Tsa could feel her blood boiling. 

"Enough!" Dai Gui interrupted. "What did he do this time?" 

"He abandoned his position, tried to cause a revolt, invaded the palace, killed and wounded several guards, stole a magic book and planned to attack you with spells to kill you, sir!" the first guard answered and the man just rolled his eyes, looking bored. 

"Why you..." Bai Tsa hissed through her clenched teeth. 

"Dai Gui..." Tso Lan said in a alerting tone to warning him that their sister was losing her self-control. The earth demons nodded and turned to the guard. 

"Do not kill him yet. He shall be important in the battle against the western Asia. Take him to my sons and tell them to feel free to torture him. When they are done, keep him arrested for three days." 

"Yes, sir!" the three guards said and left dragging the man away. Now Bai was calmer. Calm way too much to be something normal. 

"Any problem?" Tso Lan asked. After a while hesitating, she shook her head. "No, it's nothing." 

"Do not worry, he will no longer bother you." Dai Gui promised and the water demon glared at him before leaving the room and her two brothers confused. 

"She is very fickle." Tso commented and Dai nodded. 

"Females…" 

-=-=-=-=-=-

During the dinner, Bai Tsa tried to enjoy it, but that was impossible. The food that pleased Dai Gui was horrible and everything there was a mess. All of her siblings were arguing for some reason, even Tso Lan, who was scolding the earth demon for having let his wife to another continent when a war is about to begin. 

The three youngest were obviously uneasy with the presence of Dai Gui's sons, Di Zhen and Di Mian. They still were relatively young, but extremely violent and physically strong. No wonder their father had appointed them to torture, which varied from light slaps until mutilations and death. Some of the siblings did not agree with that, especially Tso Lan and Bai Tsa, who did not like useless violence. Then again, that was not of their business. 

And the two little demons were quite agitated and pleased, since they had spent hours torturing rebel slaves and even some weak demons. And today they had to torture a human who has been causing troubles for a good while. They said that the only thing that spoiled their fun was that their father had ordered them not to kill the man. 

Eventually, Tchang Zu got sick of the confusion and demanded them to shut up. The silence did not last too long, but at least the arguing was not so out of control. Bai Tsa was the only one of the family who had not eaten at all. Not just because it had an awful taste, but also because she was very possessive with her things and cold not stand when someone dared to boss around her mortals or stole them. She was sure that wizard was from her empire. Perhaps not a slave, but a subject from the continent. 

"Did something happen, sister Bai?" Hsi Wu asked waking her from her thoughts and she glared at her host. 

"Dai Gui, we need to talk." 

"Sure, what is it?" 

"It is about that human who invaded your palace today. Isn't he from my empire?" she asked and her siblings sighed, already knowing where this was going. 

"You have not changed at all, my sister. You are so selfish." Xiao Fung commented with an amused smirk. 

"Nobody has the right to rob me!" 

"Dai Gui understands you, sister." the earth demon said calmly. "But he is not from your empire, he is from mine." he assured. 

"Oh, yeah? And how do you know that, hm?" she asked crossing her arms. 

"Dai Gui would never rob someone of the family. That human is from the north island." 

"Oh, oh, what's the name of it? Bitrain?" Xiao asked snapping his fingers trying to remember. 

"Britain!" everybody corrected at the same time. 

"Yes, that's right!" 

Bai Tsa took a deep breath, trying not to get angry. "Britain has once been part of my territory." she reminded. 

"But it is not anymore." Po Kong said. 

"That is what happens when you make stupid bets." Shendu added. 

"Shut up, you lost territories for the same reason too!" 

"The point is, Britain is officially Dai Gui's territory and he has the right to do whatever he wants with to that human." Tchang Zu said willing to put an end to the subject with that argument, but the water demon was not going to give up. 

"He is not from Britain. His accent is too strong." 

The demons sighed heavily and some of them slapped their foreheads. 

"Bai Tsa, please! Why is that so important to you?" Po Kong asked. 

"He deceived me, he's from my empire. _I_ am the one who has the right to punish him, not Dai Gui." 

"He is not yours!" Shendu yelled. 

"If you don't believe it, just ask him." Dai suggested and she stood up. 

"That's exactly what I am going to do!" 

-=-=-=-=-=-

The dungeon definitively was not a very pleasant place. It was very dark and there were skeletons everywhere. The only reason why the place was not in worst conditions was because Dai Gui's sons were always there and they did not appreciate much filthiness. 

Tonight, the place was silent. Dai Gui was forming armies with the captured criminals and rebels instead of keeping them arrested. And the few ones who were in this prison were sleeping. 

Some cells were even spacious so that it had space for all the prisoners in times of wars and revolutions. And when Bai Tsa got to the end of the corridor, found the wizard in a normal cell. Surprisingly, the cell was open, and she had to wonder why he had not tried to escape. 

She did not even needed to turn into water to go in. He was lying next to the wall, his face down and his eyes closed. His clothes, specially his shirt, were bloodstained. When she approached, he opened his eyes and raised his glance at her. 

"I didn't expect... to see you here..." he said with some difficult, lowering his glance again. 

"Have you already noted that your cell is completely open?" she asked. 

"Yes, I have. Either two the brothers forgot to close it or they are getting more and more distracted..." he murmured still sounding tired. 

"And why don't you just get away?" 

"Because... I still can't move... But they would... come after me anyway..." 

"How many times have you gone through this?" she asked raising a brow and he tried to smile. 

"I can't even count it on my fingers..." 

She sighed and knelt down. 

"Whatever, I came here just to ask you a question." 

"Then ask it." 

"I want to know where you came from. Where were you born and where did you use to live?" 

He still took a while to answer. Bai could not say if he was still thinking of an answer or gathering strength to do it. 

"I was born in Britain." he finally said and the water demon clenched her fists angrily. Then Dai Gui was right, after all. 

"And where did you live before coming to the continent?" 

"I lived almost all my childhood in the Roman region near Gaul, but then I went back to Britain. My visits to the continent were not rare, though." he finished, trying to get up. The best he managed to do was to kneel. "Why?" 

Either Bai Tsa did not hear his question or just ignored it, because instead of answering, she observed his long white hair that was covered in blood for having touched his back. He took a while to realize she was staring at him and huddled a bit embarrassed. 

"What have they done to you...?!" she asked and he smiled nervously. 

"Oh, this time they went easy on me." He unbuttoned his shirt and let it fall a little so that she could see a part of his back. "It was just this." 

Bai Tsa could not help widening her eyes as she saw that his back was covered in horrible wounds and scratches. He wore his shirt again and while buttoning it, noted she was still staring at him. 

"You haven't answered my question yet." he stated and she seemed to have woken up from a trance. 

"What? What question?" 

"I asked why you wanted to know where I was born." 

She got up and looked away. "Nothing. I have to go now." she said before leaving the cell and then the dungeon. When she met her younger brothers, Xiao smiled at her annoyance. 

"He really is from Britain, isn't he?" 

She did not reply, just snapped angry and pushed her way past them. Shendu and Hsi Wu chuckled. "At least she didn't bet any territory." 

Bai Tsa ignored them and entered her room. It was all right now. Since that man did not belong to her, she did not have to think about him anymore. 

**To be continued...**


	2. Demons Fun

While I have a writer's block for "Sky Shine", I'll continue my other fics. Sorry for taking so long to update and review your fics. I have more time now, though I can't access internet on weekdays (which is really beginning to get on my nerves...). 

Anyway, thank you very much for the wonderful reviews! 

**VampireNaomi** – Eh? I didn't mention that it wasn't a one-shot? Hm... But I would never write the start of a romance in a one-shot fic, I already think I'm too fast even with several chapters... -.-" Oh, yes... the name... I was going to give him a Chinese-like name, but then I realized that he has NOTHING to do with China! o.O 

**Forgotten Love** – Hehe, now you made me blush... n.n" You really know how to write a great review and find good points that even I hadn't found. Thank you very much! I really feel like writing an original story, but I'd have to come up with a plot first... Oh, and don't worry. I don't think anyone got you wrong. 

**Tipo Topo & Topo Tapa (XD)** – Tosco é você, que comenta uma fic sem nem ter lido! ò.ó E muda esse nick pra Pangaea King! 

Now I'd just like to warn you that this chapter has a torture scene. Some blood here and there, but nothing too bad. 

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**Chapter 2: Demons Fun**

"I'm telling you, Po. Dai Gui is up to something. Remember when we went to Egypt and he enslaved everybody there without my permission?" Bai Tsa said while she and her older sister walked for Dai Gui's underground palace. Po Kong sighed. 

"Bai Tsa, Egypt isn't even your territory..." 

"Yes, it is!" Bai Tsa practically yelled. "It is not my fault if Tso Lan spends all his time in the moon and let the Romans invade Egypt!" 

"Then it wouldn't be Dai Gui's fault if his soldiers invaded Gaul because you spend all your time here complaining in my ears, right?" Po Kong teased smirking. Bai Tsa opened her mouth, but did not say anything. She stopped, leaving her sister continue walking alone. 

"Well, that's different!" she finally shouted. "Besides, Tso Lan has a whole continent for himself, a small land too little will not make any difference." 

Po Kong stopped as well and turned to face her sister, then walked to her with a serious look. 

"Look at yourself. You are not empress only of Atlantis, but also of the biggest empire of the present times, an empire that grows bigger each day by conquering other people, suppressing their cultures and subjecting them to you. Dai Gui did not say anything because he had more important things to do, and Tso Lan tries to avoid useless wars." 

"Are you suggesting I robbed them?!" the water demon asked in disbelief. 

"No. I'm just saying that you already have too much, you have to stop being so selfish. When will you understand that?" 

Bai Tsa did not reply, just faced her sister angry. Po Kong turned her back on her and went away. 

"Sister Po doesn't look very intelligent, but she really knows to say the right thing when necessary," a voice said behind Bai Tsa, who widened her eyes a bit and turned around. 

"What?" 

Xiao Fung shrugged. "It's the truth, you're way too possessive." 

"How strange to hear that from someone who owns three great empires but cannot even read," she snapped poisonously, narrowing her eyes. The wind demon cleared his throat and looked away nervously. 

"... Did you know about what's going to happen today?" he asked quickly to change the subject. 

"No, what?" 

Xiao Fung smiled again. "It seems that some Ottomans and betrayers were condemned to death, but everybody asked for a public execution" he explained. 

"And...?" Bai Tsa asked crossing her arms. 

"Dai Gui's children will torture the men and some women, and we are going to watch it. Don't you want to come with us?" he invited and Bai Tsa uncrossed her arms, snorting. 

"Torture men? Please... What a waste." 

"Waste?" Xiao asked a bit surprised. Then grinned maliciously. "What do you mean? Do you really think you could take all of them?" 

Bai Tsa turned as red as her eyes, and glared daggers at her brother. 

"Xiao Fung! You shouldn't say such things to an elder sister!" she scolded and he chuckled. 

The water demon snapped and turned to go away. She must have been with a really angry face, since all the humans she met flinched and looked scared at her, and even Shendu and Hsi Wu stopped and got out of her way before continuing their own. 

Leaving the palace did not make her feel much better but at least she would hardly see any of her annoying siblings. It has been one week with them already in that horrible, dry and hot palace with no one to talk with or have some fun. 

She stopped as she saw the area when the new slaves were working. The demons who guarded them held whips in their claws and eventually used them just to impose authority or enjoy the humans' suffering expressions. The humans were carrying heavy sacks and boxes, apparently with metal and wooden objects inside. Bai Tsa guessed they were weapons and armors for the war against the Ottomans. 

While slithering there watching that nasty scenery, she heard the noise of something heavy dropping in the ground. She looked at where that sound came from without really caring. Just when she saw what was going on she immediately got more interested. Next to the dropped box – which surprisingly had not broken – the young wizard she had met few days ago was lying in the ground. Three men who were working as well stopped and approached to ask if he was all right. The wizard said that he was, though it did not seem to be truth. 

The men turned to look at a demon a bit bigger than Bai Tsa who was coming towards them, holding a whip. 

"What are you doing there? Come on, go back to work!" he ordered. 

"He's in no condition to do that!" one of the men defended. 

"That's not of your concern! Keep working right now!" he demanded and the trio obeyed after some hesitation. The white-haired man got up by using the box as support and glared at the demon. "What are you looking at? Work you too!" 

"I can't!" the man protested, and the demon's orange eyes glow dangerously. 

"I don't care, just do it!" 

The man reluctantly tried to lift the box, but barely took two steps forward and fell again, this time breaking the box. 

Several metallic pieces rolled on the ground, and the demons squeezed his whip angrily. 

"You idiot! Look what you did!" 

"You are the only idiot here! I told you I couldn't carry that box!" 

Bai Tsa had to slap her forehead. What kind of stupid snapped at a demon who was twice bigger than him? And on top of that, in those conditions? 

The demon did not think twice and raised his whip threateningly. When he was about to punish the slave for his insolence, he heard a new voice, even firmer and more authoritarian. 

"Stop!" 

Both of them looked at where the voice came from and saw the mermaid-demon. 

"Nobody ever taught you that slaves bring more when they are healthy? You are just making things worse, you imbecile!" 

The other demon stared at her in suspicion. 

"And who the hell are you?" he asked rudely and she smiled slyly. 

"Someone who certainly is more intelligent than you and who you should bow before." 

"Don't make me laugh, you're nothing but a mere weak demon-" He could not finish his provocation when he was hit by a water torrent so strong that it made his pass out. Bai Tsa smiled amused and proud of her power. 

The wizard glanced at the unconscious demon, who now was lying in the ground few meters away, and then glared at her. 

"You didn't have to help me, I can take care of myself," he stated. 

"Of course you can..." she replied in a sarcastic tone. "You cannot even remain standing very well, but facing a demon twice bigger than you is so easy..." 

He did not reply, but looked away. Bai Tsa had to smile. She loved proud men. Her most recent conquest had been the Roman emperor, a great and fun challenge. 

"Why did you help me, anyway?" he wanted to know. 

"Let's just say that I prefer a western wizard than stupid demons to keep me company," she answered and he frowned in confusion. Bai Tsa realized that his concept of demons should be the one that demons like Tchang Zu, Dai Gui, Shendu, Xiao Fung and Po Kong gave to humanity. The concept that all the demons were bloodthirsty beings that did not care about anything but themselves, and whose greatest fun was watching or participating of massacres and abusing humans. Few of the people who lived in empires of those sort of demons knew that others could be more sensible. "Oh, come on... You did no think I would let a genuine western wizard die so easily, did you?" she questioned and he blinked even more confused. 

"You want me to teach you western magic?" he asked unsure and she flinched. She was not stupid like her siblings but also had her pride. It would be very humiliating to be apprentice of a mortal slave. 

"Of course not! I just..." She stopped and thought. All right, perhaps she did want to learn some spells, but she would never admit that aloud. She glanced at him. He was staring at her, waiting for an answer. She had to say something and fast! "First of all, my brother Dai Gui made clear that he doesn't want you to die yet. And besides, I'm on an investigation," she answered quickly. 

"Investigation?" he asked in suspicion. 

"Uh... Yes. I'm asking some questions to the slaves to find out where you are from." 

He got up, still staring at her. 

"But I already told you that." 

"Exactly!" she stated and paused to organize her thoughts. "You may be a Briton, but you were in the Roman region next to Gaul with all these people when you were attacked and brought here, right? Then that means that everybody here, except you, is mine," she said and was glad to see by his expression that her explanation made sense. "And I want them all back, because nobody has the right to take away my belongings," she continued already more self-confident. Now that she had said that, she wondered why she had not thought of that when questioned Dai Gui about the mortals stealing. 

The wizard nodded in thought and smiled. 

"Lucky them, huh? Then you will take them away from here?" 

"Not yet. First I have to know what exactly happened when you were captured." 

They heard screams and more sounds of whips snapping. 

"Perhaps we should go to a quieter place," she proposed and together they headed to the woods not very distant but far away from the aridity that Bai Tsa hated so much. The young man sat down while she remained standing. 

"Where do you want me to start?" he wanted to know. 

"First, what is your name?" she asked in front of him, crossing her arms behind her. 

"Cassius," he answered shortly, looking a bit uneasy. 

"Cassius?" she repeated in a quiet voice deep in thought. That was a Latin name. Was he really from Britain? 

Bai Tsa noticed his nervousness and quickly took her black-haired human form. 

"Is it better this way?" she asked smirking and he looked away, still smiling nervously. 

"A little." 

She sat down. "I want you to tell me how you and those people ended up here." 

"Well..." he started. "As I said, I lived almost all my childhood in a region controlled by Rome. I even returned to my homeland, but I always visited the continent. But during one of my visits, I met a very beautiful Greek woman. Her name was Helena, and her hair was golden like the sun, her eyes were blue like the sky, and her sweet smile-" 

"Could you get to the point still in this century?!" Bai Tsa demanded interrupting him. He smiled, rubbing the back of his head. 

"Yes, you are right. Well, then we came to live in the same region where I lived my childhood, and we even had two sons. One of them would be my apprentice, you know." 

She nodded slowly. "And where are they now?" 

"Patience, I was getting to that. We and all those people you were talking about were going with a huge group to Britain, but then we were caught unawares by demons who came from Hispania. They were all your brother's soldiers." 

"I knew it!" Bai Tsa muttered, clenching her fists. "And them what happened?" 

"A lot of people died during the attack, specially the men. I was injured, but not enough to die." He paused, thoughtful, and then shrugged. "Of course, otherwise I wouldn't be here telling this to you." 

Bai Tsa rolled her eyes. "Go on already!" 

"Oh, yes. The men who survived either were too injured to move or were being held by the demons so that..." he stopped again, lowering his glance to the ground. 

"So that what? Say it!" she demanded. He sighed gloomily before continuing. 

"So that we couldn't stop the demons while they... raped the women and then ate them and most of the children..." 

The water demon was speechless. She could have a clue of how horrible it must have been to him to watch not only his friends being massacred, but also his wife and raped and his sons being cruelly killed right in front of his eyes. Even though she was a demon, she could understand how painful that was. 

"And the group was divided into two," he continued after a silent moment. "One part was brought here and the other was taken to Iberia, to be sold. My oldest son was in that group." 

"That wrenched earth demon!" she muttered hitting the ground with a fist. 

"What?" he asked and she got up angry. 

"If what you said is truth, then he did rob me. That cursed liar thief! How does he dare to disrespect my property?!" 

The young man stared coldly at her and was about to say something, but they heard many screams not very far away. Screams of pain, of rage, of excitement, from both humans and demons. 

The duo followed the screams and got to a kind of arena. Around it, there were several humans – some of them were slaves, others were local inhabitants – and demons. Even her siblings were there. All of them, for her surprise. Xiao Fung, Dai Gui and Tchang Zu were the most excited ones. 

The arena was covered in still warm blood and pieces of flesh. Mutilated bodies were everywhere in the arena. The women tried to cover the children's eyes so that they would not keep watching the horrible scene while they cried desperately. In he center, Dai Gui's children smiled proudly at the audience. 

A man was dragged onto the arena by Di Zhen, the oldest one. He was not an Ottoman, but seemingly had betrayed his lord when giving information to the enemy. All the demons and surprisingly even some humans demanded that he was killed. Di Zhen pushed him over to his brother, who thanked him by bowing his head. 

Xiao Fung clenched his fists in excitement. Di Mian knocked the man against the ground and dug his claws into his chest. The man screamed in pain until finally losing his strength, exactly when Di Mian took his heart out and lifted it still beating in the air, shouting in victory and tasting the blood that dropped on his face. 

Those who had asked for the man's death got even more excited, while the others could just stare in horror. Bai Tsa swallowed and crossed her arms in a slight discomfort. 

Soon they brought another condemned man. This one had an even bloodier end. After some torture, Di Zhen cut off his head and gave it to his brother to eat it, while the rest of the body was given to the demons around the arena. 

Cassius could not stand it anymore and looked away, then closed his eyes. The incessant slaughtering got more and more violent and cruel, and Bai Tsa began to flinch at each scream of pain. It did not take too long until the wizard beside her covered his ears and turned to get away from the arena. The water demon followed him, she did not feel like continue watching that massacre either. 

He knelt down looking disturbed and she stood next to him. 

"I... will end up like them..." he murmured, finally opening his eyes. 

"No, you won't. My brother said that you are important, remember?" she said but he shook his head. 

"If I don't die in the war, I will die after it. When he doesn't need me anymore, he will send his children to kill me after a long torture." 

Bai Tsa sighed and turned to look towards the arena. She focused on her wisest brother, Tso Lan, and frowned in determination. 

She did not look back again, just concentrated on the moon demon. She walked to him and when approached took her true form. The fact that he looked as cold as the usual annoyed her, but she suppressed it. She could not disrespect him. 

"Tso Lan." 

Some of her siblings glanced at her, but soon turned to watch to the bloody spectacle again. Only Tso Lan and Xiao Fung kept paying attention to her. 

"Oh, Bai Tsa! How good, I thought you would lose all the fun!" Xiao said cheerfully, making his sister snort. 

"You call this fun?! This is an absurd, it must stop now!" 

This time Xiao looked very surprised. "Stop? But why, Bai Tsa?" 

"This is completely pointless, you are wasting men who have potential! Of course it is good to kill some humans once in a while, but this..." She pointed at the arena. "...is over the line!" 

The two demons stared at her. Xiao Fung looked confused while Tso Lan was still the same. 

"Don't you think, Tso? Isn't this all stupid?" 

"Bai Tsa, speak more quietly. Someone might hear you," Xiao whispered. 

"Good, that's the idea! I want everyone to realize the stupidity they are doing!" 

"But if you say such things aloud, some may think you are weak," the wind demon explained simply and she was quiet. 

"He is right, Bai Tsa. Even if you don't like what's happening, you don't have to try to stop them. You have to be indifferent to that sort of thing," Tso Lan added. Bai Tsa did not reply, but hissed angry and looked away stubbornly. 

"Ah, Bai Tsa! Now we are going to see the brain dance," Xiao announced eagerly. 

"Brain dance?" she repeated turning to the arena and stared oddly when seeing Di Mian stepping on a dead man's head, sticking a sword into it and then pulling it back with his brain on it. Some women who were going to be executed fainted and the children felt nauseas while the demons kept cheering. 

"Hmm, they say that eating brain gives you more intelligence and knowledge," Xiao remarked and Tso Lan and Bai Tsa looked at him in despise. He blinked in confusion. "What?" 

-=-=-=-=-=-

"I think I will return to the moon. It is more silent than here," Tso Lan while he, Hsi Wu and Bai Tsa observed the moon. The moon demon was seated and his two siblings were lying in the ground, their heads leaned on their hands. 

"But compared to this afternoon, tonight is quite silent, don't you think?" the water demon asked. 

"No, the earthly night still has many sounds. Here, there are strong winds, owls, crickets..." 

"But otherwise, we would go mad because of the total silence," Hsi Wu said. 

"What do you mean? I spend almost the whole time in the total silence of the moon, and did I go mad?" their older brother questioned. Hsi Wu and Bai Tsa glanced at each other, deciding not to answer. Tso could not help but note it and frowned slightly. "I do not like that silence of yours." 

"Eh, but didn't you just said that you like the silence?" Hsi Wu said, chuckling at the irony of the situation. 

"Are you two suggesting I am mad?" Tso Lan asked, his eyes glowing red. 

"No, of course not, brother Tso," the youngest one answered. 

"It's just that... spend centuries seated in the dark with nothing to do is not exactly the concept of fun to most of the demons," their sister added. 

"What is it, then? Spend the whole day swimming around for not having anything better to do either?" 

Hsi Wu and Bai Tsa raised and looked surprised at Tso Lan, and then at each other. 

"Did you hear that, Bai Tsa?" 

"I did, but I cannot believe it!" 

"It is not possible! Tso Lan actually told a joke!" 

"True, he indeed did!" 

"It was lame, but it was a joke!" 

"Too bad only we two witnessed that..." 

"Ah, the others have to know about it!" Hsi Wu flew up and returned to the palace. Tso Lan stared at them, sweat-dropping. 

"What happened?" Po Kong's voice asked behind them and they turned to look at her. 

"Po Kong, you won't believe it! Tso Lan told a joke!" Bai Tsa stated, making her sister laugh. 

"I really don't believe it." 

"It's truth! It is not funny at all, but it's a start." She turned to the moon demon. "Come on, Tso. Repeat what you just said." 

"Leave me alone." 

"It is indeed not funny at all," Po commented. 

"Tso, that's not what you said!" the water demon complained. For her frustration, her brother continued in silence, ignoring her. Po Kong got sick of it and decided to change the subject. 

"Look, I am going to a tavern. I will see if there is a mortal there who is worthwhile. Don't you want to come with me?" 

"Oh, why not? It has been a good while since I had fun that way," Bai Tsa said getting up. 

"Are you coming, Tso?" 

"No," he answered shortly and coldly. 

"All right, see you in some hours, then," Po Kong said shrugging and taking her human form. 

"Or perhaps tomorrow," Bai Tsa said doing the same. 

-=-=-=-=-=-

At the tavern, Po Kong chose two men and took then to a room after drinking some wine with them. Bai Tsa, on the other hand, could not find a good man, therefore she just kept drinking, leaned on her table. The fact that she was theoretically a woman and yet be in a tavern made the men think that she was a prostitute, which was beginning to really get on her nerves. If at least they were cute... 

She sighed, already sick of refusing the stubborn men who once in a while went to her table to make a pass at her or offer her money to have some fun for the night. 

"I can't take it anymore," an already very familiar voice said angry from the table behind her and she began to pay attention to make sure of who was talking. 

"And what are you going to do?" another voice asked. 

"The same thing we had planned," the first voice answered, confirming what she had guessed. 

Cassius! 

She heard one of the men hit the table with his cup violently. 

"You are really angry," the unknown man remarked after a short while. 

"Those monsters... That's why I hate demons. I swear I shall kill all of them someday..." Cassius said. Bai Tsa widened her eyes, then frowned angry. 

"Oh, really?" she murmured smirking and finish drinking her wine with only one sip. She buried her face in her hands as if she was tired and when opened her eyes they were green. She pulled a scarf out of her shirt and used it to tie her hair in a simple cock. Then stood up and walked to the table where the wizard was, smiling. 

"Good evening, gentlemen," she greeted with a voice different from the one she usually used and they looked oddly at her. 

"Unh... good evening," they replied shrugging. She did not even bother to look twice at the brown-haired man who had been talking to Cassius. She went closer to the wizard and leaned her hands on the table, looking at him deeply in the eyes. The young man did not know if he looked at her eyes as well or at her daring neckline. 

"How about we talk there in the room?" she proposed and the white-haired one stuttered and gulped, pulling his collar with his index finger. 

"Cassius," the other man called. He did not say anything else, but Bai Tsa knew that there was a message behind his uneasy look. 

"I am really sorry, miss, but I have something very important to do right now," Cassius said very reluctantly. Bai Tsa frowned a bit and stood again. She shifted her weight to only one foot, which caused her hips to make a sensual curve from the point of view of human men. 

"Are you sure?" she insisted, placing one hand on her hip. The brown-haired man dropped his cup on the table, spilling the wine. The duo stared at her openmouthed. 

"I... I am. I don't have money, anyway..." 

She smiled maliciously and approached her face of his, brushing his hair with her fingers. 

"For you... I'll make an exception tonight," she whispered on his ear. Cassius immediately stood up and glanced at his friend. 

"Look, we can decide how to kill them later, right?" he asked and the other snorted looking bored. 

"Yeah, I think we can." 

"Kill who?" Bai Tsa asked while they headed to one of the rooms of the tavern. 

"Oh, we are going to set an ambush and kill all the demons of the palace, including lord Dai Gui. Thus we humans shall be free again." 

"How interesting. And, let me guess, you will be the leader of that revolution?" 

"Well, I don't want to boast of that, but I thought of the whole plan, and I will control the ambush and kill lord Dai Gui. And them I will lead everyone and incite revolutions in all the places I can." 

"Oh my, you really are very courageous. It is a very dangerous mission." 

"Yes, but I have been devoting my life for that for years, and I am ready. All those despising demons will pay for what they have done." 

They entered a room. 

"But of course, I can have some fun at times," he said beginning to sound eager and heard how the door was slammed. 

"You will kill all of us, huh?" the woman spoke with some hatred in her voice. He turned around to see her leaned against the door she had just closed, glaring at him. He immediately frowned seriously, and she decided this was the best time to take her true form. As did so, she could see his surprised expression. 

"Bai Tsa?!" 

"Men... They are all the same. Even though you are a wizard, you are so delighted with me that you did not even felt my demon chi. How pathetic." 

He clenched his fists and teeth angrily and stepped back on guard. She sighed. 

"And on top of that, you revealed me all your stupid plan to destroy us. You trust people way too much, don't you?" 

"How would I know that a demon sorceress would lower herself by acting like a vulgar prostitute?!" he defended. 

"Watch your tongue! I just did that to bring you here!" she shouted and then took a deep breath. "It is you who is no good. Planning to kill the demons not caring that not all of them deserve that." 

"Exactly like you do! But the difference between you and humans is that you are all the same, maniac killers!" he yelled and in the following second Bai Tsa punched him hard on his left cheek, making him fall to the ground. 

"Don't dare to compare me with those wild animals! Not all the demons are like that!" She flinched when he raised his glance and glared daggers at her. That look was really full of hatred and contempt, which now were focused on her. She had to admit that that disturbed her. For some reason, it was unbearable to be the target of that glare. Perhaps because of the wizard's strong chi. 

"You just proved me otherwise," he said shortly. 

"Well, then I shall prove I am telling you the truth... that I am not bloodthirsty or maniac... and that I do think some humans are more useful alive than dead," she stated and he rolled his eyes, making her realize what she had just said. But now was already too late. 

"Oh, really? And what are you going to do, join the revolution?" he asked mocking and getting up. 

"No, but I will pretend I didn't hear anything that you said tonight," she replied and he frowned. 

"What do you mean?" 

She smirked. "What do you think? I'll give you an advantage. I shall neither tell anyone about your ridiculous plan nor try to stop you by myself. I already made clear that I do not want to have anything with battles that are not of my concern." 

"You are making a mistake, Bai Tsa," he said smiling enigmatically. "I already got everything perfectly planned, there is no way I can fail. I shall win for sure. And when you see me about to kill your siblings, you won't stand it anymore and will come to fight me, regretting for not having told them about this. And then, you shall die," he spoke the last sentence slowly, and smiled self-confident. "Or you are going to tell them about my plan and show to the world that I am right. You will lose anyway." 

"Don't be so sure about that," she said smiling equally self-confident and turned to leave. "Besides, I always keep my words." 

**To be continued...**


	3. The Betrayer

Hi, all! Heh, sorry about the delay. I had a horrible writer's block for JCA fics and attempted to write two new fics for other fandoms. I hope you like this chapter. At least I had fun writing it. That's _usually_ a good sign.

Yay! More people are reading this fic! I was beginning to think that no one else would bother to. Thank you very much to all of you, reviewers and silent readers!

**VampireNaomi** – I hope I am still keeping things in control between Cassius and Bai Tsa. I'd be most displeased with myself if I made them fall in love that quickly! The slow development is the best part, after all.

**Forgotten Love** – Hey, thanks! I hope you'll come back someday... and still like my fics.

**I am the Pimp Lord Spleef** – That's good. The bad thing is that I am lazy and take so long to update and review. I'll take some time to read your updated fics. I love them! I'm very happy that you like mine.

**Sylerna** – About Valmont, yes, Cassius is him in a certain way. I imagine Valmont when I write the scenes and I try to make him have Valmont's personality while fitting it into the mentality of a man who lives in the time of the Roman Empire. He's indeed his ancestor and... something else. I think this is not the right time for that, since I still have to discuss it with a certain person. About the rest of the JCA crew, the Chan clan and perhaps even Tohru's ancestor would make an appearance in future chapters, but I'm still thinking about it and considering if it's even possible.

* * *

**–CHAPTER 3–  
_The Betrayer_**

The sunshine reached Bai Tsa's room, announcing a new day. The water demon pulled her sheet and covered herself until her head to avoid the light. She had a horrible headache and felt like she had been run over by Po Kong. She tried to remember what had happened in the previous night, but her memories were not very clear. She then decided not to make any effort to remember, because thinking just worsened her headache.

When she was about to fall asleep again, the sound of a gong ring echoed in the whole palace, causing the walls, the floor and Bai Tsa's head to vibrate. The feeling was so awful that for a moment, she thought she would get sick.

She at last opened her eyes and took at least three minutes to focus the room. Then, her brain seemed to have finally started to work again and she realised that the light around her was not the sunshine, but the candles and the candelabra, since Dai Gui's palace was underground.

She rubbed her eyes and moaned in weariness. Dai Gui... She had something to talk to him, and it would not be a friendly conversation, but now she could not remember what it was about. Remembering still made her head throb.

She opened her eyes again and looked down at herself, noticing she was in her human form. Beside her bed, at her left, there were at least three wine bottles – counting was difficult as well – and what really looked like a stained shirt. She frowned, still a bit dizzy. She turned at her right side and saw a strong and tall man with tanned skin, black hair and beard, naked, sleeping beside her.

The shock made her wake up completely and she yelped, jumping out the bed as if it were suddenly very hot. Then, she looked at herself and noted that she was naked as well. The door was half open and she hurried to wrap the sheets around herself in the case someone passed in the corridor and saw her like that. Of course, she could have tried to take her true form, but that required some concentration – not much, but she could barely stand up.

The man turned in the bed, stretched his arms and opened his eyes, smiling as he saw the black-haired woman wrapped in fine sheets, looking at him in surprise and confusion. He leaned on his left elbow to watch her with his blue eyes.

"Good morning, my dear wild one," he purred. Bai Tsa exhaled hard, indignant. She opened her mouth to say something, failing in the first five attempts until she finally pointed at him accusingly, a bit more self-controlled.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" she asked.

"Don't you remember? I'm Marcus, and it was you who brought me here last night. You said this place was better than the rooms in the tavern and, for Jupiter, I have to agree. The food here is great, in both ways," he said, raising his eyebrows twice in a row. Bai Tsa grimaced and walked to the door to open it.

"Get out! If you leave _now_, I shall spare your life!" she ordered, pointing at outside. However, the man did not move.

"Now, what's that? It was the most wonderful night I ever had, and you agreed," he implied. Bai Tsa felt even more disgusted as she began to have vague memories of the event.

"Get out of here now!" she hissed with her true voice. Seemingly, Marcus did not notice that and looked dreamy, probably remembering the nice night. Bai Tsa felt her blood boiling and glanced around, looking for the most practical way to get rid of him. It was a surprise to see the Marcus himself had left a war axe on the floor, next to his helmet and his clothes. She did not bother to wonder why he had an axe and a helmet, and actually, now that did not matter even to him anymore.

She grabbed the axe and easily lifted it, which impressed the man, though did not scare him.

"Go away," she demanded one more time.

"Hey, be careful with that, woman. You can get yourself hurt," he calmly warned, and at the next moment she threw the axe towards him. Before he could do anything, the weapon hit him in the chest. He widened his eyes and fell back again, staining the bed with blood. Bai Tsa approached with a cold expression and ran a finger on his bleeding chest. She raised her hand and observed the blood for some seconds, thoughtful, before licking it. It had been so long since she last enjoyed a slaughter, killing just for pleasure. On the one hand, she was sure again that she was a real demon and was not softening; on the other, she had just contributed to the stereotype that demons were bloodthirsty maniacs and had no feelings. For some reason, that annoyed her.

------

Bai Tsa ran to the room where her siblings were having breakfast. She got there slightly breathless and sat down on the only seat left and which just increased her bad mood: between Shendu and Xiao Fung.

"Hey, Bai Tsa, you took ages to come. We were wondering if you had died or was having some more fun," the wind demon remarked. She frowned, not sure if he had dropped a hint or just making another of his stupid remarks. Hsi Wu tried to suppress a laugh and she glanced at him, now almost sure that it had been a hint. Even so, she decided to ignore it. Perhaps her brothers were just stupider than she had thought.

"I was just getting ready. Unlike you sloppy males, we females take care of our appearance before joining the rest of the family," she answered calmly.

All the siblings looked at one another. Shendu seemed to have a sarcastic comment on the tip of his tongue, but since he was right beside his sister, he decided to remain silent. Tchang Zu, however, being the oldest one, stronger and seated at a safe distance from Bai Tsa, spoke.

"But Po Kong didn't take so long."

Hsi Wu whispered something that Bai Tsa guessed to be "And she had a hectic night as well..."

Bai Tsa kept ignoring her youngest brother. "Well, Po Kong and I are fairly different," she replied to Tchang Zu while helping herself to breakfast.

"Well, yes, we figured that out by now," Xiao Fung said, smirking. The water demon glared at him.

"Really? I didn't think you were clever enough to figure out anything," she snapped, but the wind demon merely shrugged, not shaken at all. A sepulchral silence fell among them and Hsi Wu and Shendu were the only ones who were smiling in amusement. Bai Tsa glanced at each one at the table; the two youngest ones were still smirking, Tso Lan avoided to look back at her, Po Kong seemed to be on a rather bad mood and the three remaining brothers looked very calm, perhaps even bored.

"Oh, Bai Tsa, " Xiao Fung suddenly called, making her startle.

"What is it?" she asked sharply. He shook his head, smirked like Hsi Wu and Shendu, and leaned closer to his sister to say something in a quieter tone.

"How was your night?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, paling slightly.

"It must have been good, and I hope so, because we, too, had some fun last night. It all began when Hsi Wu and I tried to make Tso Lan tell another joke, but he didn't want to. Then, we tried to force him to become funnier by starting a basic food fight. Then, Po Kong came back with a great surprise for us and, for our even greater surprise, you arrived some time later. The night was complete with the sounds coming from both directions and Po Kong complaining that you make a better use of only one than she does with two."

"How subtle, Xiao," Tso Lan commented dryly.

Xiao Fung went back to his normal position and burst into laughter, along with Hsi Wu. Shendu was trying hard to control himself, but it was very difficult. Bai Tsa blinked in confusion and reached the conclusion that her three youngest brothers had really lost it for good.

"I don't think I understand what you said after the part about Tso Lan," she said.

"What that idiot meant..." Po Kong clarified, snorting. "... is that we, the oldest ones, were... shocked by your behaviour last night."

The mermaid blushed slightly. "What?"

"You drank wine until you got completely drunk, brought a human to the palace, took him to your room and... were not in silence," Po Kong explained sharply. Her younger sister was all red now.

"You... heard us?"

"The whole palace heard you!" Tchang Zu said. "Of course, those two not only heard, they also wanted to _see_ it," he added, nodding at Xiao Fung and Hsi Wu. Tso Lan shook his head, disapproving all of them.

"It was just a glance," Xiao murmured.

"I am so sorry, my brothers and my sister. I don't know what I was thinking," Bai Tsa apologised, lowering her head. She quickly raised it again, though, as soon as she saw Shendu's triumphant expression, and regained her cold composure.

"Ah, but it wasn't only that. What happened before that is... curious," the mountain demon continued, with a less angry tone.

"Dai Gui will want to know about it with more details later," the earth demon said.

"About what?" Bai Tsa asked, having really no idea what they were talking about.

"Nothing," Tchang Zu, Tso Lan, Po Kong and Dai Gui answered in unison. She raised her brows lightly, shrugged and kept eating.

"Anyway, Bai Tsa, where is that human that you brought?" her sister asked.

"You know what? I didn't like him that much in my sober condition. He was very arrogant, and that's not a good trait in humans. So, I killed him."

Xiao Fung dropped his fork and his knife and turned to Bai Tsa so fast that he almost twisted his neck.

"You killed him? Killed how? Did he bleed?" he asked, accidentally spitting some of the food he had been chewing.

"Yes, I killed him with an axe. He's still there in my bed," she said, cleaning her face.

"There's a bloody corpse in your bed and you tell me only now?! Do you think I can still get any organ of his?"

"Perhaps," she answered, losing her nerves. Xiao Fung stood up and rushed to her room.

Po Kong watched him calmly, chewing her food, and then turned to her younger sister.

"You know, if I were you, I'd go after him. He's going to get your room all dirty with blood and human organs," she suggested.

"Yes, even for demons, sleeping in a room like that is nasty," Hsi Wu agreed. Bai Tsa's right eye twitched when she pictured the scene and she immediately went after the wind demon.

------

The mermaid-demon burst in the room and noted that she had arrived right on time. Xiao Fung was preparing to hit Marcus with the axe with all his strength.

"Stoooop!" she shouted, charging at her brother and snatching the axe from his hand.

"Hey! What's that for?" he asked, upset.

"If you want to dissect that body, fine, but do it far away from _my_ room!" she demanded.

"You're so annoying! I'll be careful!" he defended himself, trying to get the axe back. Hsi Wu discreetly entered the room, examining Marcus.

"That one was very strong, good for works that require much strength," he commented, although his two siblings were still fighting and certainly did not hear him. He shook his head. "What a waste. He'd have been valuable in the slave market in Iberia."

"Give me that, Bai Tsa!" Xiao Fung demanded, fighting his sister to get the axe.

"No way! Get off!"

Hsi Wu sighed heavily. "You two are behaving like little children," he stated, making Bai Tsa hesitate.

The toad-demon took advantage of that to grab the axe and before she could object, he said, "Wait, let me explain. I happen to have learned a way to cut up a human body without getting the place dirty, like doctors."

Bai Tsa raised a brow and crossed her arms, sceptical. "Oh, really? And how do you think you'll do that?" she enquired.

"It's easy, actually. I just have to calculate the angle and the force of the blow," he replied, proud.

"What a joke. You can't even calculate two plus two," she retorted.

"I bet he memorised that phrase. He mustn't even know what 'angle' is," Hsi Wu mocked, also crossing his arms and smirking sarcastically.

"Don't you think you are exaggerating?" Xiao Fung said, offended. "I may not be as clever as brother Tso Lan, but I know some interesting things." He prepared to hit the man again, making Bai Tsa widen her eyes.

"Xiao, don't!"

"Back away!" he shouted. His siblings barely took a step backward and the wind demon hit Marcus in the abdomen, making blood sprinkle everywhere. Bai Tsa and Hsi Wu closed their eyes and flinched when they were covered by the blood and reopened them to see the man's entrails coiling up the axe as Xiao tried to pull it back.

"Eww, disgusting!" Bai Tsa exclaimed, grimacing and glancing at herself, then around. "You ruined all my clothes! In fact, all my room!"

"And I had just bathed," the sky demon complained.

"Oh, come on, it was rather fun," Xiao Fung said, giving up trying to pull back the axe carefully and doing it with all his might. More blood gushed out and splashed on the two siblings again. "Oops... Hehe, sorry about that."

"That's it! We're exchanging our rooms! Or even better, I'm leaving this awful place, I'm going back to Atlantis!" the water demon decided.

"But what about the war?" Hsi Wu reminded her.

"I don't care! You and those Ottomans can blow up one another, that's not my problem! I just want to go back to my palace and stay away from all of you!"

"But, Bai Tsa, they must be almost getting here! Are you really going to waste a chance like that?" Xiao Fung asked in disbelief. "I bet we'll capture many humans and do that same thing we did last night. Even better, we'll be able to watch it, or do it ourselves!"

She stared at her brother and frowned a bit.

"What did you do last night? Something I don't know?"

"Let's face it, sister Bai. You don't know even what _you_ did last night," Hsi Wu remarked, but a dangerous glare from the mermaid made him shut his mouth. She turned to stare seriously at Xiao Fung.

"So?"

"Right," he murmured under his breath, dropping the axe on the bed. "We were going to talk about that with you some time later. It's just that last night, Dai Gui was told that the humans were plotting against him. He sent some guards to invade the tavern, where the revolutionists were organising. He ordered them to arrest all those men and torture them to death. He just didn't kill their leader, because it seems that he's some sort of wizard and may be useful in the war. Isn't that right?" the question was asked to Hsi Wu, who nodded.

"We were also told that you knew about their plan, but affirmed clearly and aloud that you were not going to tell us about that revolution. We would like to know why, sister Bai," the sky demon added.

Their sister did not respond; she was speechless. It felt like she had been hit hard in the head, and she began to remember what had happened in the previous night. That meant that someone besides her had found out about those humans' plans and reported them to her siblings. Not only that, that same 'someone' had also heard her conversation with Cassius. He or she was probably spying on them.

"W-Who... Who was their leader?" she asked, trying to sound as if she did not really care.

"Uh..." Xiao Fung scratched his head. "A blond man. What was his name again?" he asked to his youngest brother, who thought for a moment.

"Cassius, I think..."

Bai Tsa paled. "Where are they?"

"They who?" the wind demon asked, raising his brows.

"The revolutionists!"

"Weren't you listening? They were all killed, except for the leader, who must be in the dungeon now."

The mermaid-demon flinched and clenched her fists. She had not expected that; they had ruined everything!

She hurriedly left the room. Her two brothers stood there, confused.

"What's her problem?" Hsi Wu asked and Xiao turned to him.

"Isn't Cassius that man from Britain who was brought here some days ago?"

The winged demon sighed, tired. "Do you think she's still into that nobody-steals-my-subjects thing again?"

------

The water demon hurried into the dungeon and took a glance at each cell. There were many dead or nearly dead humans and the air had a putrid smell. When she was almost in the end of the corridor, there were more empty cells and more alive people then dead ones. At last, she found the cell where Cassius was and quickly noted the bloody marks on his back.

He immediately noticed her presence as well and was initially surprised to see her, but then he turned around to glare at her with so much hatred that if a look could kill, she would have dropped dead at that instant.

"It is true, then? All of you were captured and only _your_ life was spared?" she stated, breathless.

"So you came here to finish the job? Isn't it ironic that they didn't kill the only person that you wanted them to kill?" he said venomously.

"What are you talking about? I kept my word!" she replied, angry.

"But you rarely keep your word, don't you?" he said, smirking feebly and sarcastically.

Bai Tsa started at him, perplexed. That was true, but how could he know?

He laughed and, as if he had read her thoughts, he said, "One of your brothers told me. While he whipped me, he told me very interesting things."

She raised a brow. "For example?"

"For example? He told me that you reported us about our ambush, despite our agreement. And to think that for a brief moment I had trusted you. But I warned you that you were going to lose, no matter what choice you made. Now everyone will know that the demons have no honour, you're just sanguinary monsters." He smiled in victory.

"What?! I'm telling you I kept my word, at least this time I did! I didn't tell anyone!"

"Your brother also told me that you were quite drunk last night. I'm sure you got like that after discovering my plan," he went on, serious again. The water demon felt uncomfortably warm, but had to admit that nothing could have prevented her from saying something about the ambush in her drunken condition.

But she could not have been the informer. When she thought better, she remembered that her siblings had asked why she had not warned them about the revolution, even though she had known about it. It was obvious that it was not her fault.

"No, you're wrong. I really didn't tell anyone. My siblings even got suspicious about me, asked me why I didn't told them," she pointed out, more self-confident.

"Liar! Everyone in the palace was commenting about a female demon who knew about the plan. And your brothers told me that their sister was the so-called informer."

"I... I..." Now Bai Tsa was definitely confused. Instead of trying to convince him that she was innocent, she tried to picture what had happened since last night in all the details. Suddenly, an answer came and she felt enlightened. "Po Kong..." she murmured, widening her eyes a bit.

"What did you say?"

She looked at him, finally able to fit the pieces of the jigsaw together.

"It must have been my older sister. She, too, was in the tavern last night."

He snorted. "Do you really think I'm stupid enough to buy that? You may have deceived me once, but I won't give you the privilege to do it again," he replied acidly.

"But it does make sense! Especially because she was mad at me – I guess she was jealous – and did that not only to help my brother Dai Gui, but also to... kind of get a revenge on me."

"Great. Now you can go and argue with her about that matter and stop disturbing me. Unless you have come here to torture me physically, after torturing me psychologically. If that's the case, I think now it's the time for the next stage, right?"

"I haven't come here to torture you in any way," Bai Tsa said, rolling her eyes in exasperation and beginning to lose her nerves. He shrugged, which judging by his expression, caused him some discomfort.

"All right, you've already made it clear that you are too good to do the 'dirty' work with your own hands, so you send your brothers to take care of that," he implied, this time truly irritating her. She charged at him and grabbed him by his collar.

"I don't think you understand very well. I am a demon sorceress, empress of Atlantis and of the glorious Roman Empire. I can be as cruel as the other demons in my family, I am just more sensible than most of them," she hissed and threw him violently against the floor as she finished speaking. She looked at him in contempt. "But they are right. You are indeed a worm, and should be killed like the others."

Cassius make an effort to sit up and glare daggers at her. "You are finally showing what you truly are. Finally. You're quite stubborn."

"So are you."

"Ah, it is a pity to disappoint you, but your dear brother, Lord Dai Gui, doesn't intend to kill me any time soon. He wants me to help him in the war that is coming."

"I know. Hopefully, they will kill you."

The man looked away and was thoughtful. "That would be actually good. I'm getting tired of staying here in this dungeon with nothing to do, just waiting for those demons to come and torture me when they are bored."

She shook her head. "I don't know why I am wasting my precious time here with you. You are the most idiot and annoying human I have ever met. I despise you!"

"Ah, then our feelings for each other are mutual. Now I'm thrilled; I wonder if I'm blushing," he said sarcastically. Bai Tsa breathed hard and turned to leave.

_Arrogant man. If it depended on me, I would kill him in the slowest and most painful way with my bare hands_, she thought bitterly, clenching her teeth.

When she was already at some distance from his cell, he crawled with difficulty to the door of the cell and smiled. "Don't forget to attend the marking. I will be waiting for you. Perhaps I'll figure out a way to escape, and it will be interesting to see your reaction," he said and lied down. The water demon abruptly stopped, surprised.

_The marking? He could not be talking about the permanent slavery mark, could he?_

She snorted aloud and left the dungeon. Only when she was far away from it, she pondered about the matter.

The permanent slavery mark... Each demon had a unique, magical mark that if marked on humans – some cases also involved weak demons and other beings –, would be turning them into that demon's slaves forever. They would be doomed to serve their master for the rest of their lives, with no chance to run away. Their owner would always know where to find them and could cause pain through the mark. That was a very common thing to do with lovers and personal slaves who knew too much, in order to avoid betrayal, but it was also used with rebel slaves who were too important to be severely punished or killed. And once they were marked, no other demon could steal or buy them, not even exchange anything for them.

Bai Tsa narrowed her eyes and hissed nervously. Perhaps it was time to talk to Tso Lan.

**To be continued...**


End file.
